Song / Yuan dynasty stoneware bowl

A small white Chinese glazed bowl with moulded decorations. The exterior wall has been impressed with an abstract floral design.

Produced between 960 and 1367 CE, the simple aesthetic of Song and Yuan Dynasty ceramics has long appealed to collectors in the West. These ceramics are distinguished by simple yet sophisticated shapes and forms. Renowned for their subtle monochrome glazes — tones can vary from milky white to pale green, sky blue to intense smoky black — the porcelain vessels have been closely studied and imitated through centuries by scholars, collectors, and other artists. In the 21st century, their strikingly modern aesthetic endures.